H.S. WRESTLING: TIOGA USES FAST START TO TAKE DOWN WAVERLY, 44-29, IN BATTLE OF TOP-RANKED TEAMS IN STATE (24 PHOTOS) (January 17, 2026)

By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
WAVERLY — Tioga swept through the light weights and led 32-0 before Waverly got its first win in a 44-29 victory here Saturday night in a non-league wrestling battle of the two top-ranked teams in Division 2 in New York State.

Waverly and Tioga were ranked 1 and 2, respectively, heading into Saturday night's match-up, and will likely be the top two seeds Wednesday at the Section IV, Division 2 Duals, which will be held at Tioga.

"It's a very nice win for us," said Tioga coach Kris Harrington. "We got some favorable match-ups, and our hitters, they hit today.

"We have to do it again (Wednesday) and it could be a completely different match, but this is a nice confidence-boost for our young guys — it was the first time in the bright lights for some of these guys," noted Harrington.

"Waverly is a very, very good team. We just wrestled a little bit better than they did tonight," added Harrington. "We have to be ready on Wednesday if we end up wrestling them again."

"(Tioga) definitely had the momentum from the start," said Waverly coach Devan Witman. "It was hard for us to recover after those first few matches.

"We have four days to reset and re-adjust, then we get one more crack at them.

"They definitely took round one. We have to see what adjustments we can make for round two," added Witman. "And, we need to have a short memory."

The Tigers won the first five weight classes, with three of the wins coming via pinfall and one via technical fall, for a 26-0 lead.

"Dual meets are all about bonus points," said Harrington.

Tioga sophomore Drayke Ulrich started the night off with a pin of Waverly 7th-grader Triton Floyd in 4:18 in the 103-pound bout, then freshman Parker Jackson gave the Tigers a 12-0 lead with a pin of 7th-grader Mason Phillips in 1:24.

At 118 pounds, Tioga junior Declan McKee, the reigning state champ at 101 pounds, bumped up from 110 pounds to square off with freshman Avery Bowman, who placed eighth at States at 108 pounds last year.

McKee scored a pair of takedowns, cinching in a cradle after the second one for a fall at 1:50 to give Tioga an 18-0 lead.

"The big turning point was Declan (McKee) getting the fall at 118," said Harrington. "It changed the whole complexion of the match."

Tioga senior Logan Bellis, a two-time state place-finisher, also bumped up to 126 pounds to square off with Waverly junior Rhylee Stotler, who placed fifth at States last year and has three wins this season over Tioga's regular 126-pounder senior Kadin Cole.

Stotler scored the bout's only takedown in the second period for a 4-2 win to up the Tiger advantage to 21-0.

"Logan (Bellis) getting the win was another big win for us," said Harrington.

At 132 pounds, Cole, who was third at States as a sophomore but missed most of last season with an injury, scored three first-period takedowns, and two sets of near-fall points for a 17-2 technical win over senior Hudson Sink in 1:43 to make it 26-0.

Tioga's lead stretched to 32-0 when senior Brayden MacWhinnie received a forfeit at 138 pounds.

Senior Daltton Davis received a forfeit at 144 pounds to put Waverly on the board and close the gap to 32-6.

Tioga senior Jayden Duncanson, a four-time state place-winner, bumped up from 138 to 150 pounds, and scored a 27-second fall with his patented-cradle over senior Nico Rae to give the Tigers a 38-6 lead.

"Getting the bonus points with Jayden (Duncanson) when there was the possibility of matching up with (Daltton) Davis; that was big for us, too," said Harrington.

Waverly junior Parker Larson built a 9-3 lead over former teammate, junior Caden Bradley, now at Tioga, on his way to a 10-7 decision at 157 to close the gap to 38-9.

At 165 pounds, Waverly senior Cooper Robinson led 9-0 after the first period, on his way to a 16-0 technical fall of senior Aiden Black in 3:26 to trim the deficit to 38-14.

Junior Joey Mack won a wild 38-second fall over Tioga 8th-grader Carson LaBour at 175 pounds to cut the Tioga lead to 38-20.

Mack took LaBour straight to his back in the opening seconds of the bout, but LaBour reversed Mack to his back. Mack reversed again and finished off the fall.

Junior James Howey clinched the win for the Tigers at 190 pounds, pinning sophomore Liam Arnold in 67 seconds to put the Tigers up 44-20 with two bouts remaining.

Waverly junior Matthias Welles, a sixth-place finisher at States as a freshman, pinned sophomore Jamie Woodcock in 67 seconds at 215 pounds, and two-time state finalist senior Troy Beeman, a state champ as a sophomore, topped Tioga sophomore Mark McCane, 6-1, in the 285-pound finale.

"Saturday night, the bright lights ... it was a fun night," said Harrington. "Of course, it's a lot more fun when you win."

Tioga improves to 6-0 on the season, while Waverly falls to 10-3.

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IN PHOTO 1: Tioga's Logan Bellis lifts Waverly's Rhylee Stotler. IN TOP PHOTO: Tioga's Declan McKee. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY and NIKKI BIRNEY.

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TIOGA 44, WAVERLY 29
103: Drayke Ulrich (T) over Triton Floyd (W), 4:18;
110: Parker Jackson (T) over Mason Phillips (W), 1:24;
118: Declan McKee (T) over Avery Bowman (W), 1:50;
126: Logan Bellis (T) dec. Rhylee Stotler (W), 4-2;
132: Kadin Cole (T) tech. fall Hudson Sink (W), 17-2 @ 1:43)
138: Brayden MacWhinnie (T) won by forfeit;
144: Daltton Davis (W) won by forfeit;
150: Jayden Duncanson (T) over Nico Rae (W), 0:27;
157: Parker Larson (W) dec. Caden Bradley (T) (Dec 10-7)
165: Cooper Robinson (W) tech. fall Aiden Black (T), 16-0 @ 3:26;
175: Joey Mack (W) over Cason Labour (T), 0:38;
190: James Howey (T) over Liam Arnold (W), 1:07;
215: Matthias Welles (W) over Jamie Woodcock (T), 0:56;
285: Troy Beeman (W) dec. Mark McCane (T), 6-1.

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